Managing Your Mailbox Efficiently: A Guide to Using Gmail Templates
Do you find yourself typing the same answer to emails over and over? Are you spending a lot of time rewriting careful replies to queries about your services? Do you sometimes forget to include important details in an email response? Or do you have an employee whom you’d like to enlist to help with emails but want to be sure they know exactly what to write?
I was complaining along these lines to a friend last year and she said, “Have you thought about using Gmail Templates?” This sounded like a great idea! So my friend showed me how it was done and today we want to show you!
This comprehensive guide will walk you through the process of creating, using, editing, and deleting email templates in Gmail, enhancing your productivity and saving precious time.
The Power of Email Templates in Gmail
Enabling Templates in Gmail Settings
To begin harnessing the power of templates in Gmail, you will first need to enable this feature. Here's a simple way to do this:
Access Settings: Open Gmail, click on the gear icon in the upper right corner, and select 'See all settings'.
Activate Templates: Navigate to the 'Advanced' tab and find the 'Templates' section. Here, select 'Enable' and click 'Save Changes' at the bottom.
Crafting Your First Template
Creating a template is as straightforward as composing a regular email:
Compose Your Email: Click 'Compose' and draft your email, including both the subject and body.
Save as Template: Click the three dots in the compose window's bottom right corner. Select 'Templates', then 'Save draft as template', and choose 'Save as new template'. Name your template and click 'Save'.
Utilizing Your Template
Using a saved template involves just a few clicks:
Start a New Email: Click on 'Compose' to open a new email.
Insert Template: Click the three dots, hover over 'Templates', and under 'Insert template', choose the desired template. It will automatically populate your email.
Editing Your Creation
Adjusting an existing template is an easy process:
Insert and Modify: First, insert the template into a new email and make your changes.
Save the Changes: Click the three dots, select 'Templates', 'Save draft as template', and choose the template to overwrite. Click 'Save'.
Removing Outdated Templates
To delete a template, follow these steps:
Access Templates: Click on 'Compose', then the three dots, and hover over 'Templates'.
Delete: Go to 'Save draft as template', hover over the template you wish to remove, and select 'Delete template'.
Some final tips
Get personal
While templates offer a significant time-saving advantage, it’s still important to add personal touches to each email to maintain a genuine connection with your recipients. Templates should serve as a foundation, not a one-size-fits-all solution. Personalization ensures that your communication remains effective and thoughtful. I like to address the emails by name, and try to touch on at least one item in their question with a personal note. Just so people know there’s a human at this end of things, not a robot!
Keep a good list
When creating a new template I try to make sure the name of the template is a good description of what is in the template. I’ve also noticed the list of templates is not alphabetical. Templates are listed by updates - so the template you’ve most recently updated will be at the top of your templates list. You might want to give each template name a number so for example: 01 First Contact and 02 Follow Up - and then if you see the list getting randomized, go into each template and change something then resave. You could just put in a period and then delete it. This will keep the list in order.
Implementing Gmail templates in your daily routine will revolutionize the way you manage your mailbox. This efficient tool not only saves time but also maintains consistency in your communications. By following these guidelines, you're well on your way to mastering your email management and enhancing your overall productivity.
